Protecting Personal Information
Members of the NHS team looking after you will share your personal information with each other; you will normally meet all of the staff and be introduced to them by name. The team may include nurses, doctors, therapists, pharmacists, laboratory staff, and clerical support staff, nursing or other healthcare professionals who are looking after you. All these people are bound by a high standard of confidentiality. Your information will not be available or shared with NHS staff, trainees or students who are not looking after you directly and do not need to know it. This is called “the need to know” principle.
Every time you attend your doctor’s surgery or your hospital, staff will record details of your medical history, personal life and treatment as part of your routine care. Staff need this information to care for you properly. This information is kept in your medical case record or on your computer record.
If you agree, your relatives, friends and carers can also be kept up to date with the progress of your treatment.
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
The practice has adopted the British Medical Association’s Model Publication Scheme for General Practitioners. If you require further information, please contact our Practice Manager, Jill Campbell.
Complaints
Please feel free to let us have any constructive criticism or suggestions which would improve the service we provide for you. We operate a complaints procedure and would ask that in the first instance you put your complaint in writing to our Practice Manager, Jill Campbell.
Consent for Minors
The practice embraces the current Children (Scotland) Act, Child Protection Guidelines together with the Responsibilities and Parental Rights Agreement.
Under Section Law, young people aged 16 years and over have the same right to consent or non-consent as adults.
Violence Policy
The NHS operate a zero tolerance policy with regard to violence and abuse and the practice has the right to remove violent patients from the list with immediate effect in order to safeguard practice staff, patients and other persons. Violence in this context includes actual or threatened physical violence or verbal abuse which leads to fear for a person’s safety. In this situation we will notify the patient in writing of their removal from the list and record in the patient’s medical records the fact of the removal and the circumstances leading to it.
Our responsibilities to you:
- We are committed to giving you the best possible service.
- You have the right to be treated with courtesy by the doctors and the practice staff.
- You have the right to confidentiality.
- You will be seen at short notice for an emergency consultation. Appointments must be made for routine check-ups and repeat prescriptions etc.
- We will try to ensure that you are seen on time, but some consultations take longer than others and we have no way of knowing about this in advance. If there is a patient with an emergency or serious problem we will give them priority.
- On the occasions when we are running late, an explanation will be given to you by the receptionist.
- Patients who request repeat prescriptions must give at least 2 days’ notice before collection, not counting Saturday and Sunday.
- We have the right to remove patients from our list if they repeatedly and persistently ignore their responsibilities to us and other patients.
Your responsibilities to us:
- Please consider your responsibilities to the practice and to the other patients who use our services.
- We ask that you treat all members of the practice team with courtesy and respect.
- Please do not ask for a home visit unless the patient is physically unable to be brought to the surgery.
- On the occasions when we do run late, please be patient, because on another occasion it might be you that needs extra time. Please do not blame the receptionist.
- Please remember don’t abuse the system by using the emergency provisions for non-urgent matters or imply that something is urgent if it is not.